Formula One driver Jean-Eric Vergne has revealed he was admitted to hospital after the Australian Grand Prix.The 23-year-old racer has been on a strict diet regime to meet new weight regulations this season which has seen the minimum limit of car and driver combined raised to 692 kilograms.'I did a diet this winter but you get to certain limits that the body can no longer take,' said Vergne.

'I was in hospital between the grands prix in Australia and Malaysia because of a lack of water and a little bit of lack of everything. I was very weak.'

Adrian Sutil, who is one of the tallest, and subsequently heavier drivers on the grid, has already revealed he will race without a water bottle in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in a drastic bid to keep his weight to a minimum.

Vergne, who was 14th quickest on Saturday, admitted the issue has been discussed among his fellow drivers, but a resolution is yet to be found.

'Frankly, the situation is stupid', added Vernge. 'Some lighter drivers want to keep their edge, and we have not reached a solution.

'Formula one cars are very difficult to drive and we need all of our skills. Being forced to lose weight is not good.'Out of juice: Adrian Sutil will race without a water bottle at Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix

Unpaid Formula One drivers have threatened to take evasive action with a strike if their financial issues go unresolved.

The report comes from German magazine Sport Bild, via motorsport.com, which claims there are several big-name racers who are waiting on overdue payments, including Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn made the switch from Lotus to Ferrari at the start of the season, but he is reportedly still waiting for full payment for the 2013 season from Lotus.

Raikkonen scraped a point in the recent Bahrain Grand Prix with a 10th-place finish, but it was his manager, Steve Robertson, who made more of a stir as he was seen arguing with Lotus team boss Federico Gastaldi in the paddock, per the Sport Bild report.

The pair were rumoured to have clashed due to Robertson’s driver’s lack of payment, but the issue doesn’t stop at Raikkonen.

Sport Bild also claimed that Romain Grosjean, Adrian Sutil, Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Hulkenberg have unpaid wage issues, with the latter speaking to the magazine to voice his concerns:

The teams are aware of the situation—the driver can be easily replaced. Maybe not with the same quality, but they (the teams) do take advantage of that. They are not doing it (failing to pay drivers) for fun. The money just isn't there. The sport is too expensive.

A strike would leave the “expensive” sport in turmoil just three races into a season that Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are dominating.

However, as the report noted, the 29-year-old has reportedly refused to sign the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association’s document that threatens strike action if drivers continue to go unpaid, despite being one of the highest earners in F1.

Next up on the calendar is the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, where Hamilton will be chasing his third win in seven seasons and third overall at the venue to eclipse Fernando Alonso’s record of two grand prix victories there.

Alonso, together with the apparently out-of-pocket Raikkonen, is yet to record a podium finish for Ferrari this season and Sky F1's Ted Kravitz noted his frustration:

“He is more fed up than anyone that Ferrari are, once again, unable to deliver him a race-winning car."

For his partner Raikkonen, though, issues go deeper than just taking to podiums; and if his reported financial rift with Lotus continues, he can forget about taking to his car, let alone a podium.

I don't get the last sentence and Sportbild writes that it's Hamilton and Kimi who didn't sign that agreement.

quoteTranslated by our foreign correspondent Claudio AcquistaLeo TurriniFormula1 April 19, 2014Once while I was in Asia for work, I had gone to the cinema to see ‘Saving Private Ryan’. Subtitled in Japanese. There I realized as much as Kimi (is understanding) his F 14 T. I do not envy him and so I happily admit that there is only Alonso at the moment who knows how to get the best from the Red (which is not much, of course). And neither am I a conspirator. Since I see and understand (as I must be the new Nostradamus), I noticed, however, that it’s been a long time that the lobby (let’s call it this way) of who was avowedly hostile to the return of Raikkonen at Ferrari is working hard. They are doing their job and with great interest. I doubt it is also the interest of the Horse, given the results after 2009, but everyone is enjoying as much as they can. But no matter! I am convinced that it would be a painful singular goal if someone in Maranello pulled the conclusion that the Holy Drinker was the choice (extraordinary) of Domenicali and so … Mattiacci Harry-Potter should have the intelligence to understand that he needs two pilots. Or at least I hope. That said, the real news of the day is that Ricciardo is ahead of Seb even in the wet condition. Condolences to Filippo Vettel! (*Filippo Vettel is the name of Leo’s blog follower). Hamilton on pole, what do I talk for? From another perspective, I see hard times for Rosberg. The rest is waiting for a GP in the rain (so says the weather), with reflections on technical developments of the cars supposedly awaiting them when they return to the European leg.